title: Structural transitions in nanoparticle assemblies governed by competing nanoscale forces.
abstract: Assembly of nanoscale materials from nanoparticle (NP) building blocks relies on our understanding of multiple nanoscale forces acting between NPs. These forces may compete with each other and yield distinct stimuli-responsive self-assembled nanostructures. Here, we report structural transitions between linear chains and globular assemblies of charged, polymer-stabilized gold NPs, which are governed by the competition of repulsive electrostatic forces and attractive poor solvency/hydrophobic forces. We propose a simple quantitative model and show that these transitions can be controlled by the quality of solvent, addition of a salt, and variation of the molecular weight of the polymer ligands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Rachelle M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Choueiri
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klinkova
authors.forename: Héloïse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thérien-Aubin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumacheva
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D006046:Gold